5 Steps You Should Take After a Minor Car Accident
Car accidents happen all the time, no matter how comfortable and safe we feel behind the wheel of our automobile. The odds are in your favor that you’ll likely be in at least one car accident over the course of your lifetime. It’s just going to happen.
You can hope, however, that when an accident does occur that it isn’t a severe one. Not all car accidents result in serious injuries or fatalities. A fender bender or light impact can be a much better outcome.
However, it’s still important to know what steps to take after a minor car accident. The steps you take immediately following said accident can have a big impact on your financial future. Read on and we’ll walk you through what you need to know.
1. Move to Safety Quickly
We don’t get into our cars in the morning expecting to get into a car accident that day. Getting into any kind of accident, even a minor one, can be quite shocking. It might take a moment for your brain to catch up to the reality around you.
It’s important to act fast, however. If you’ve been in a minor accident, your first concern should be ensuring it doesn’t become a major one.
If you’ve been hit by another vehicle, it’s likely you’re still positioned in a public roadway. This puts you at great risk for collision from another vehicle. If you can, you should move your car out of the way of danger as soon as possible.
If for some reason you aren’t able to move your car to safety, you should throw your hazards on to warn oncoming vehicles of the trouble on the road.
The last thing you want is to be injured as a result of another driver not catching sight of your current predicament.
2. Check for Injuries
Once you’ve moved to safety, it’s time to do a proper check-up on yourself and everyone else in the vehicle. Is everyone okay?
Do an extra thorough check.
As we mentioned, a car accident can be quite a shocking experience. It can, very literally, put your body into a state of shock. That means adrenaline will flood and your body will be on high alert.
Adrenaline has the capability to actually drown out pains and aches. That means you might have been injured in some capacity and might not even realize it. Injuries such as whiplash still result frequently from even minor car accidents, so it’s important to take this check seriously.
If you or someone in your car has been injured, you should call for medical assistance immediately. If everyone is okay, check on the status of the other driver. If they are injured, make that same call for medical assistance right away.
If everyone seems to be okay, it’s time to get down to business.
3. Take Lots of Photos and Video
If the accident is the result of the other driver’s negligence, they will need to compensate you for any damage or injuries that have resulted from the accident.
In order to ensure you receive compensation in the future, it’s important to ensure you get plenty of evidence from the scene of the accident. That means you should take out that handy camera you keep in your pocket (your cell phone!) and start taking snapshots.
Get some general photos of the scene of the accident, including the positioning of the vehicles. Make sure to get lots of photos of any damage done to your vehicle. Capture it from multiple angles.
If you’ve sustained any type of injuries, go ahead and document that with photos and videos as well. You’ll be able to reference these videos as evidence when you bring a claim forward against the other driver’s insurance company.
4. Obtain Other Evidence from the Scene
There’s still a bit more you’ll need to obtain from the scene of the accident if you want to have a strong case later on. If there were other drivers who witnessed the case, it can be incredibly helpful to get their contact information.
This way, you can call upon them as witnesses later on when putting together your case. Witness statements can carry a lot of weight when it comes to car accident cases.
You should also ensure that the police come to the scene of the accident and file a police report. This report will serve as a strong piece of evidence as well.
5. Seek Medical Attention
Even if you feel fine, it’s worth visiting a doctor following your accident. When your body calms down, it might reveal aches and pains you didn’t initially recognize. Many people whose injuries are not severe but cause a lot of physical discomfort choose to visit a car accident chiropractic to speed up their recovery. Learn more about how a car accident chiropractor can help you
If you hope to receive compensation for your injuries and the corresponding medical treatment, you’ll need to have proof of those injuries. A doctor’s report will be able to serve as this necessary proof.
It’s important to see a doctor as soon as you can after an accident. If you wait too long, an insurance company may be able to argue that it is impossible to prove that these injuries resulted from the accident in question.
If you get pushback from an insurance company on your claim, you’ll want to call in experienced legal help, like the kind these lawyers offer. You deserve compensation for the damages you’ve sustained, and an attorney can assist you.
What to Do After a Minor Car Accident
Even if you’ve been in only a minor car accident, it’s still important to take your next steps very seriously. Doing so will ensure a stable financial future for yourself and your family.
Need more legal advice and tips? Keep scrolling our blog for more.
